The Demigod's Guide to Greek Mythology
by Jake the Drake
Summary: STOP! before you cross that magical border. Do you know enough Greek mythology to help you survive in the real world? Are you sure? Then who is Hyas, Zelus, and Phaethon? Right. Better take this guide with you.
1. Disclaimer, Prelude, & Sources

_**~*MUST READ*~ Disclaimer ~*MUST READ*~**_

Please take into consideration with compassion that the most experienced and well organized (Athena's kids, obviously) demigods of Camp Half-Blood have constructed this guide with their bare, calloused hands. You shan't plagiarize their work. This guide is fictitious, for learning purposes only, not to be taken literally, does not include the Pelasgian or Orphic myths, and does not support the topics discussed thereof. The _Percy Jackson and the Olympian_ series does not belong to the demigods or the author, but rather Rick Riordan. In conclusion to this disclaimer, the author would appreciate your constructive criticism and help to improve this guide by filling in plot holes and providing more mythologically and historically accurate information. Thank you for your diligence and patience.

Signed, _Moglin_.

Prelude

_The Demigod's Guide to Greek Mythology_—as stated above in the disclaimer—was created by specially selected demigods from Camp Half-Blood in Long Island, New York. It is on the rise in popularity and usefulness in the Greek mythological world (and educational systems abroad.)

This guide will explain to you every aspect and topic of Greek mythology and include a little bit of real world history, such as how Greek mythology influenced ancient Greek society and the world of today. It will teach you what the average demigod would need to know to go beyond average and be ready for anything, camp, or the outside world. As long as you persist in turning the pages and try not to let a nine-headed hydra spit acid on you or the Chimera scorch or bite you, you will be fine.

This guide's timeline will only cover the birth of the cosmos to the Romanization of Greek mythology.

This guide is not intended to replace human-instructed learning.

Sources: (Note: If you wish to assist in adding more to the guide, please state your sources. I will not add information from sources I believe to be bogus and trust me, I can differentiate between what is bogus or not. Thank you.)

This guide serves to centralize nearly all information found from the following:

Pseudo-Apollodorus –_ Bibliotheca_

Homer's _The Illiad_ and _The Odyssey_

Hyginus Preface

Heisod's_ Theogony_

_Theoi_

_Percy Jackson and the Olympians_ wiki

_Reference_ (for pronunciations)

_Pantheon (Encyclopedia Mythica)_ website

Wikipedia and Wikisource

Yahoo! Answers

Google

_About_

_Crystalinks_

_MythEncyclopedia_

_Windows2Universe_

_Maiacar_

_Mythweb_

_Marvunapp_

_Factmonster_

_TheLostInfo_

_TvTropes_

_WiseGeek_

_Timeless Myths_

_MNSU education_

_Pathguy_

_Webwinds_

_Zombies Wiki_

_Demigods Wiki_

_Knifethrowing Info  
_


	2. Survival Supplies, Tips, & Strategies

**_Basic Supplies:_**

**Water** **- keep hydrated

**Ambrosia/nectar*** - used to heal wounds - If too much is consumed, a demigod may disintegrate, so be careful on dosage! Also, never give any to a mortal as they will disintegrate instantly!

**Pain-killers** and/or **allergy-relievers** (Motrin, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Advil, etc.) - If ambrosia/nectar are unavailable

**Celestial bronze weapons*** or **any other godly materials** - only works on monsters

**A mortal weapon** (knives, handguns, etc) - for self-defense against mortals

**Celestial bronze armor* -** keep protected

**Cologne, perfume, bathing regularly** or **anything that masks your scent*** - monsters can only tell if you're a demigod by smell

**Duck tape** and **WD-40** - "If it moves and shouldn't, use the duct tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40."

**Clothes -** can be changed as to create a disguise

**At least $500** - to buy food and extra equipment, etc.

**Map/compass** - keep track of where you are

**Cellphone and its charger** - keep it off mostly; monsters can track you with it

**Carrying device** (backpack, magic satchel, dufflebags) - store your stuff

**Sleeping bag** and/or **tent** - keep well-rested

**Demigod friends** - so you won't have to fight alone

A **satyr friend** (optional) - satyrs know first aid and healing magic and can sniff out monsters (however, this is harder underground, which always smells like monsters)

**Rope** - in case of miscellaneous situations

**Laptop computer** (optional) - for miscellaneous things

** - must have at all times

* - highly recommended to have at all times.

* * *

**_General Tips:_**

Keep calm when you feel threatened. Attitude is everything

Never let your guard down! Stay alert! Always expect trouble.

Trust your gut feelings!

Choose your equipment wisely.

Strength in numbers.

Common sense and street smartness is better than IQ and book smartness. However, you'd have an advantage if you have both.

Master one skill at a time.

For automatic weapons, short bursts of fire conserves ammo and increases accuracy.

Adapt or die. Survival of the fittest.

Use higher ground as an advantage.

Practice worse case combat scenarios.

Conserve energy, stamina, and ammunition.

A one-time solution is rarely a solution.

If holed up in a makeshift base, frequently reinforce and test your defenses.

Melee weapons rarely one-shot.

Observe firearm safety protocol at all times.

When traveling, always be on the lookout for possible locations of supplies and shelters.

It's highly recommended to have a plan.

Remember the enemy may be gone, but the threat lives on.

Be protected at all times. Sleep with a weapon and with armor on. If you think you're safe, you're not.

At night, if you have friends with you, have somebody guard the area for monsters.

Be aware of your smell.

Don't hesitate.

Keep ambrosia, nectar, medicines, and first aid kits in stock.

Be suspicious of anybody you do not know

Always have a back-up weapon, like wrist-mounted crossbow or a knife.

Always maintain your equipment.

Don't get overconfident or be a show-off. It'll get you killed.

Don't underestimate monsters.

Never assume a plan will go your way.

Always have a back-up plan.

Never pick form over function. This applies to everything, from weapons to places of fortification. If you think it's cool, but is in fact useless or harmful, abandon it.

Don't be lazy.

Don't wear baggy clothes.

Never fire weapons blankly and without aim. This wastes ammunition.

Evaluate the risks.

Mind advantages and disadvantages that comes with using your godly powers.

Great power comes with great responsibility.

* * *

**_~~**FIREARM SAFETY PROTOCOL**~~_**

**-Always treat firearms as if they are loaded**

This rule is a matter of proper mindset rather than a specific habit. Many firearm accidents result from the handler believing a firearm is emptied, safetied, or otherwise disabled when in fact it is ready to fire. Such misunderstandings can arise from a number of sources.

…:…_Faulty handling of the firearm –_ a handler may execute the steps of procedures such as loading, fire, and emptying in the wrong order or omit steps of the procedures

…:…_Misunderstandings about a firearm's status_ – for instance: a handler may think the safety is on when it's not; a round of ammunition may be in the chamber or in the magazine while the handler thinks it is empty; a handler may receive firearm and assume it's in a certain state without checking whether that assumption is true.

…:…_Mechanical failures_ – Wear, faulty assembly, damage or faulty design of the firearm can cause it to not function as intended. For instance: a safety may have been worn down to a point where it's no longer functioning. Broken parts may have given the firearm a "hair trigger" (a very sensitive trigger). A dented or bent body of the firearm may cause jams or premature discharge of ammunition. Sensitivity to impact may cause a firearm to discharge if dropped or struck against another object.

If a handler always treats firearms as capable of being fired at any time, the handler is more likely to take precautions to prevent an unintentional discharge and to avoid damage or injury if one does occur.

The phrase "The gun is always loaded" is often used. The purpose is to discourage mental habits such as "I know my gun is empty so (some) unsafe practices are okay." Inexperienced handlers often think this way and accidents can happen as a result. A gun safety instructor can respond to such reasoning by restating the rule: "No, you're gun is always loaded."

**-Point the muzzle away from non-targets**

This rule is intended to minimize the damage caused by an unintended discharge. The first rule teaches that a firearm must be assumed to be ready to fire. This rule goes beyond that and says "Since the firearm might fire, assume that it **will** and make sure no harm occurs when it does".

A consequence of this rule is that any kind of playing or "toying" with firearms is prohibited. Playfully pointing firearms at people or other non-targets violates this rule.

Two natural "safe" directions to point the muzzle are upwards (at the sky) and downwards (at the ground). Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Firing at the ground may result in a ricochet or cause hazardous fragments to be flung at people or material. Aiming upwards eliminates this risk but replaces it with the risk that the bullet may cause damage when it comes down to the ground again. Indeed, several accidents have been caused by discharging firearms into the air. It is also possible that the muzzle will inadvertently be pointed at a non-target such as someone's head or an aircraft.

When passing a firearm to another person, it should be passed such that the muzzle of the weapon does not point at, or "flag", the recipient or any bystander. If the situation permits it is considered good practice to show the firearm with the magazine removed, the breech unloaded and locked open before handing it over to the recipient. This is known as "show clear". The recipient should personally check the firearm upon receipt, even if he has seen it clear while in someone else's possession.

**-Keep fingers off the trigger**

This rule is intended to prevent an undesired discharge. Normally a firearm is discharged by pressing its trigger. A handler's finger may involuntary move for any of several reasons: being startled, not keeping full attention on body movements, or physiological reasons beyond conscious control such as spasms. Handlers are therefore taught to minimize the harmful effects of such a motion, by keeping the finger off the trigger.

The trigger guard and area above the trigger of a firearm presents a natural point for a handler to keep their finger out straight alongside the weapon, so as not to violate this rule. A properly indexed trigger finger also helps remind the person holding the gun of the direction of the muzzle.

In popular culture, such as movies and TV shows, this rule is often violated, even by characters who would be trained in gun safety such as military personnel or law enforcement officers.

**-Be sure of your target… and what's beyond it**

This rule is intended to eliminate or minimize damage to non-targets when a firearm is intentionally discharged. Unintended damage may occur if a non-target is misidentified as a target, or if the bullet hits something or someone other than the intended target.

Handlers are taught that they must positively identify their target as valid. Additionally, they learn that even when firing at a valid target, unintended targets may still be hit, for two reasons:

…:…The bullet may miss the intended target and hit a non-target.

…:…The bullet may pass through the intended target and hit a non-target beyond it, so called "over-penetration".

This may create situations that present dilemmas for a handler. Such situations are for instance a police officer in a riot or a soldier in a situation where civilians are near the enemy. Indecision or misjudgment of the handler's abilities in such a situation may cause undesired outcomes, such as injury to the handler or the handler violating rules of engagement and causing unintended damage.

To minimize the risk of such outcomes training is required. Target practice increases the precision with which the handler can discharge the firearm and thus increase the chances that the intended target is hit. Education about terminal ballistics gives the handler knowledge about the characteristics of a bullet after a target is hit. This knowledge coupled with insight into the handler's own capabilities makes it easier for the handler to make appropriate decisions about whether to fire or not, even if given little time and/or put under severe stress.

* * *

_This page will soon be updated with Strategies._


	3. Weapons

**_Handguns_**

Fairly difficult to aim at long range (125-150yds)

Best suited to close-quarters combat

While they often fire considerably smaller and less powerful loads than rifles, the recoil of a pistol is still more difficult to manage than that of a rifle (for an inexperienced shooter), as the weapon is held in the hand and can't be braced against the shoulder and has considerably less bulk than a rifle to mitigate the recoil.

A slightly smaller chance of penetrating a skull than a rifle because most handguns have a muzzle velocity ranging from 900-1,500 ft/s (although some pistols have been known to fire close to 2,000 randomly).

Caliber, target proximity, angle, and location of impact with the skull are all major variables.

Handguns and their ammunition are highly common, being the standard issue for police officers and kept by civilians for both home defense and concealed carry, whereas shotguns and rifles (and their ammo) are usually found locked away in police armories and personal gun safes.

Semi-automatics are generally more common than revolvers, but it mainly depends on location.

When using a handgun, always remember to properly aim it, preferably with both hands (although this may not be possible in some situations). Attempting to dual-wield handguns and/or fire them "gangsta style" by holding the guns sideways will only result in wasted ammo and a quick death. In close quarters, the handgun would actually be more effective held close against the body, using your free hand to perform tasks such as holding a light or fighting back with a light melee weapon.

It's advised that a flashlight attachment be acquired fro a handgun in possible, as this frees up a hand that would otherwise be holding a flashlight and allows for more accurate aiming at night and in dark interiors.

Avoid pressing a semi-automatic handgun against the flesh of a target, unless it has a standoff attachment on the fore end that prevents the weapon's barrel from moving out of battery, as this prevents the action from working properly.

Never assume a weapon is unloaded, and when handling the weapon, always try to keep the barrel facing the ground or at the sky.

Firing a weapon in a confined space, or an area where sound reverberates strongly may cause hearing damage.

…

…

_Semi-automatic pistols – _

Fires as quickly as the operator can pull the trigger

Fed through detachable magazines

Usually sport higher capacity magazines than revolvers

Can be fired and reloaded very quickly

Can be fitted with accessories such as tactical lights, lasers, and sound suppressors. These advantages have led to semi-auto handguns replacing revolvers as the standard sidearm of most law enforcement agencies.

However, a semi-auto handgun is relatively complex compared to a revolver, with more moving parts, which increases the chances that a malfunction or jam will occur, especially if the weapon isn't properly maintained.

Semi-autos are usually easy to with a little bit of instruction and have a good amount of firepower with a high magazine capacity.

…

…

_Revolvers –_

Fed through a chamber that rotates whenever the gun is cocked

Known for being extremely reliable, low-maintenance weapons – it's often said that a revolver will absolutely never jam, no matter how much abuse it's put through (although as with any gun, the individual parts can still be damaged, particularly the hammer).

In addition, rounds can be left chambered in a revolver indefinitely, while in a semi-auto, leaving rounds in the magazine for too long can wear down the springs inside the mag.

For the above reasons, revolvers are often recommended for first-time handgun owners.

Also, revolvers are often chambered for more powerful rounds than their semi-auto counterparts, such as the venerable .357 Magnum

On the flip side, revolvers hold less ammunition than semi-autos (most revolver chambers hold only 6 rounds), take longer to reload (though speed loaders and moon clips can greatly ameliorate this), are louder, and have less recoil countermeasures than semi-autos.

…

…

_Caliber –_

Smaller caliber handguns, such as those chambered in 9mm and .38, have less recoil and, with the exception of revolvers, can hold more ammunition in a magazine, allowing the person wielding them to fire more shots before reloading.

Meanwhile, the more powerful guns, such as those chambered in .45 ACP and the .357 Magnum, can take on weaker opponents more easily, but have harsher recoil.

Larger calibers, such as the .44 Magnum and the .50 AE, typically constitute overkill against people at anything less than the outer limits of a conventional pistol's range (and long-range shooting should be done with a rifle anyway). Pistols firing such large calibers are loud, heavy, bulky, have great recoil, and small ammo capacity. Such high-caliber handguns should only be carried when there is a high risk of encountering heavily armored people or large predators like bears, mountain lions, etc.

Handguns chambered in the .22 Long Rifle cartridge (or rim-fire) are of a controversial note. Though underpowered by conventional standards, and usually not advised for modern combat, the round is easy to transport (fifty rounds can fit in the palm of your hand). It's plentiful and has little recoil, noise, and muzzle flash, and is effective at the close-quarters ranges where the handgun comes into its own. On a fortunate shot, the .22 has been known to enter the skull, and ricochet several times to cause massive brain damage and death. The flip side of this is that it's less effective at medium-longer ranges, and it's more prone to ricocheting off the skull outright, or simply being embedded in it without causing damage.

…

_**Best to Worst: **_Sig Sauer P Series, S&W M&P Series, Ruger P Series, Walther P99/S&W99, Springfield Armory XD, Beretta 92FS/M9, M1911, Heckler & Koch USP, Glocks

* * *

**_Bows & Arrows:_**

A weapon system that predates recorded history and is common to most cultures. In the mortal world, bows and arrows are used primarily for hunting and for sport.

Somebody who makes bows is known as a bowyer, and the one who makes arrows is a fletcher—or in the case of the manufacture of metal arrows, an arrowsmith.

_Advantages:_

Silent

Few modern requirements or machinery to make bows and arrows traditionally.

Low maintenance and almost idiot proof (all a wooden bow requires is a little oil and the occasional new string)

Ammo can be reused

_Disadvantages (reduced if you're a child of Apollo or naturally gifted):_

Requires a great deal of strength and training to fire effectively if not a lifetime of practice to become truly deadly with the weapon

Inability to go in close with the bow

Requires a lot of instinctive aiming

Bulky ammunition

Slow fire rate

Requires a tall person to use longbows

******The only excuse to use a bow as your main weapon is if your archery skills are up there with Ted Nugent, Hawkeye, the Green Arrow, or Katniss Everdeen.

_Recommended Draw Weights for Beginners:_

Children – 10-15lbs

Adult – 15-25lbs

_Recommended Draw Weights for Advanced:_

Regulars – 30-60lbs

Tournament shooting – 40-60lbs

Hunters – 65-70lbs

_Exercises to help move up draw weights:_ weights, push-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, anything that builds upper body strength

_Types of Bows:_

_Recurve bow –_ a design of bow where the limbs form a constant curving arc from the riser to the limb tip, and the string, when the bow is braced, touches the belly of the limbs (tips curve away from the archer). Often made of more than one material, either laminated carbon or fiberglass. A very effective bow for beginners, it's also the exclusive bow of the Olympics. Highly recommended by bowhunters.

_Selfbow –_ a bow entirely composed of one stave of wood or dovetail billets, with no laminations. May be backed with sinew, rawhide, or other material to add strength to the back and prevent wood splinters from lifting, causing a failure in the limb

_Composite bow – _a bow made with strips of wood, fiberglass, horn, or other materials that are laminated together.

_Longbow –_ generally, any straight or nearly straight bow of five feet or longer where the bow string doesn't touch the limb when braced

_Compound bow – _a modern bow that uses a levering system, usually of cables and pulleys, to bend the limbs to aid in efficiency

_Types of Arrow Shafts:_

_Wood –_ the cheapest variety, but also provides the least amount of consistency brought about by the inconsistent nature of the wood. Because beginning archers tend to lose and break more arrows, wood is the recommended starting material because of its cheapness.

_Aluminum –_ can be made to a much greater level of consistency than is possible with wood. They are durable, available in a wide range of sizes, and are conveniently crafted for interchangeable arrowheads. They can be somewhat cost-prohibitive, however, and are not recommended for beginners who tend to lose arrows more frequently.

_Fiberglass –_ provides good consistency in their construction and are adaptable in sizes and weights. Unfortunately, fiberglass is also very brittle, causing these kinds of arrows to break and crack more easily during use.

_Composite (carbon-wrapped aluminum) –_ considered by most archers to be the most durable and efficient style available. They are higher velocity arrows with all of the benefits of aluminum and none of the weaknesses of fiberglass. These arrows are also the most expensive, so they are recommended for expert archers only.

_Types of Arrowheads:_

_Bodkin points –_ short, rigid points with a small cross-section.

_Blunts –_ unsharpened arrowheads occasionally used for types of target shooting, for shooting at stumps, or other targets of opportunity, or hunting small game when the goal is to stun the target without penetration. Blunts are commonly made of metal or hard rubber. They may stun, and occasionally, the arrow shaft may penetrate the head and the target; safety is still important with blunt arrows.

_Judo points –_ arrowheads that have spring wires extended sideways from the tip. These catch on grass and debris to prevent the arrow form being lost in the vegetation. Used for practice and for small game.

_Broadheads –_ used for war and are still used for hunting. They usually have two to four sharp blades that cause massive bleeding in the victim. Their function is to deliver a wide cutting edge to kill as quickly as possible by cleanly cutting major blood vessels and cause further trauma on removal. They're expensive, damage most targets, and are usually not used for practice. ******Barbed broadheads may be illegal in some states.

_Types of Trick Arrows:_

Greek fire

Boxing glove

Cryonic

Napalm

Explosive

Grappling hook

Net

Stunner

Sonic

Tear gas

Electric

Flare

Smoke(screen)

Suction-cup

Poison-tip

Acid

Fire extinguisher

Firecracker

Flash

Glue

Harpoon

Rope

******Remember: magical arrowheads are for Greek monsters only (celestial bronze, Stygian iron, etc.)

_Maintaining Bows and Arrows:_

_Bow-_

…:…Never lay it on the ground as this can cause dust and other materials to damage or ruin sensitive parts of the bow

…:…When the bow becomes wet for any reason, dry it off ASAP even if finishes are waterproof.

…:…If your bow has metal in it, then the metal will eventually rust causing the bow to function poorly.

…:…To help preserve the finish on the bow, it's advised to use any type of bow wax and rub it on the bow.

_Bow String-_

…:…This vital part of the bow is perhaps one of the easier areas to damage. To avoid damage, the archer should use bow string wax to keep the string waterproof. This will help keep the string in maximum performance condition and prevent it from becoming tangled.

_Arrows-_

…:…Always keep the fletching dry. If they become wet, spread out the arrows until they're all dry completely. This allows the feathers of the bow to return to their original shape.

* * *

**_Crossbows_**

A weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts or quarrels.

_Advantages:_

Quiet

Doesn't require as much training and fitness to use

Ammo can be reused

Very powerful (capable of bringing down a large bear in one shot depending on the strength of the crossbow and the size of the bolt)

Fairly easy to reproduce, as is their ammunition

_Disadvantages:_

Fire rate is much slower than a bow and arrow

Bulky ammunition

Illegal is some states

Significantly less side-to-side range of motion than a bow (has horizontal instead of vertical limbs)

_Maintaining Crossbows:_

…:…Thoroughly check for warn, loosened, damaged, or missing parts every time you use your crossbow.

…:…Replace frayed or worn strings and cables; inspect the center serving on the string carefully looking for signs of extreme wear.

…:…If excessive wear exists, it is a good idea to change the string and cables at the same time since they will all stretch over time, decreasing the crossbows performance.

…:…Lubricate the flight track or rail, also known as the barrel, while shooting according to the crossbow manufacturers recommendations.

…:…Wax the length of the crossbow string (except for the serving) and the cables according to the crossbow manufacturer's recommendations.

…:…All crossbows vibrate so make sure screws haven't worked their way loose through vibration. Always be careful not to over-tighten screws and create a problem that you cannot fix.

_Crossbow Safety:_

Crossbows are extremely similar to firearms in their handling and use. Therefore, all firearms safety rules apply equally to crossbows. However, there are a few safety tips that are specific to crossbows:

- Never carry a bolt in a cocked crossbow while you're walking. When traveling, take the bolt out and wait until you're stationary and/or ready to take out your opponent.

- Never dry-fire your crossbow. This could result in catastrophic damage to the weapon, which could send parts flying, potentially injuring you or your partners.

- Never fire a crossbow when your fingers are near the string or the path of the string. Getting hit by the string can be extremely painful and can even result in serious injury.

- Never fire a crossbow when the limbs are close to branches or other obstructions. The force of the limbs hitting a hard surface upon release can ruin your crossbow and can even result in injury to you or your partners.

- Never use a cocking device to uncock your crossbow. It's much safer to put a bolt in the cocked crossbow and fire it into the ground or another safe backstop.

- Never use bolts that are not correctly matched to your crossbow. Check your manufacturer's instructions to make sure you're firing the correct bolts.

* * *

**_Throwing Knives:_**

A throwing knife is a knife that is specially designed and weighted so that it can be thrown effectively. They are a distinct category from ordinary knives.

The weight of the throwing knife and the throwing speed determine the power of the impact. Lighter knives can be thrown with relative ease but they may fail to penetrate the target properly resulting in "bounce back". Heavy throwing knives are more stable in their flight and cause more damage to the target, but more strength is needed to throw them accurately.

_Advantages:_

Lightweight

Silent

Can be reused

Fast fire rate

More accurate than throwing axes

Can also be used as a melee weapon

Single-handed (Allows for the wearing of a shield on the off-hand)

_Disadvantages:_

Requires months to years of practice

Negligible stopping power (because they lack three crucial elements: Mass, velocity, and accuracy

More effective against small game

Less effective for self-defense than throwing a large rock

Not designed for distance

_Common Ways to Hold a Knife For Throwing:_

_Hammer grip -_ hold the knife as you would hold a hammer. You may place your thumb on the spice of the knife. Your wrist has to be absolutely stiff when throwing, otherwise you'll get uncontrollable rotations. If the knife is sharp, you should only use this grip on the handle! This grip is primarily used with heavier knives.

_Pinch grip-_ used to throw light knives fast, suddenly, and with force. The knife has to be gripped (pinched) between the thumb and the index finger in a manner that is a straight extension of your arm. You can hold it with the two-thirds of your finger that are next to your hand and the thumb, or only with the fingertips. If you grip a heavier knife or want to throw further, you can additionally use your middle finger. If the edges are not sharp, you can use this grip also on the blade.

_Blade grip-_ If the blade is sharpened on only one side, you can carefully hold it with your thumb and middle finger. The sharp edge faces out of your palm! You have to hold the knife so tight that it doesn't leave your hand early, but not too tight, especially not cramped. Only a relaxed throw is a successful one!

* * *

**_Throwing Axes:_**

A throwing axe is an axe that is used primarily as a missile weapon. Usually, they're thrown in an overhand motion (much like throwing a baseball) in a manner that causes the axe to rotate as it travels through the air.

A skilled axe-thrower will rotate the axe exactly once throughout the flight so that the sharpened edge of the head will penetrate the target.

_Advantages:_

More stopping power than throwing knives

Can be reused

Single-handed (Allows for the wearing of a shield on the off-hand)

Silent

Can also be used as a melee weapon

_Disadvantages:_

Not designed for distance

Bulkier and heavier than throwing knives (requires more upper-body strength)

* * *

**_Javelins:_**

A javelin is a light spear designed primarily for casting as a ranged weapon. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand. However, hurling devices do exist to assist the javelin-thrower in achieving greater distance.

Key factors for reaching greater horizontal displacement_:_ acceleration, angle of release, coefficient of friction, transfer of momentum, air resistance, positioning of center of gravity, and center of pressure on the javelin.

_Advantages:_

Can penetrate weak shields and light armor

Effective as hunting weapon

Single-handed (Allows for the wearing of a shield on the off-hand)

Simple

Silent

Cheaper than arrows (which have to be made almost perfectly straight)

Can be reused

_Disadvantages:_

Usually only built for distance rather than accuracy

Usually only effective at breaking enemy formation and confusing them

Less effective as a melee weapon and at penetrating than spears

* * *

_This page will soon be updated with Single-Handed Melee Weapons.  
_


	4. Birth of the Cosmos

"_Men make gods in their own image; those of the Ethiopians are black and snub-nosed, those of the Thracians have blue eyes and red hair." – Xenophanes_

**Protogenoi**—the first entities or beings that come into existence. They form the very fabric of the universe and as such are immortal. They literally are what they represent or symbolize. (Elementals.)

In the beginning, there was nothing. The universe was primal, anarchic, and chaotic. Nothing could live in this void lump of space except for the god that ruled over it. **Chaos**, this incorporeal god, lacked gender, moral, and reason, underwent no transformations as it was beyond change and deprived of qualities, and knew no properties, yet still somehow existed. It was a timeless place where all the elements of creation were heaped together to form this gaping abomination of unknown origin.

_"If this is its nature, the potency of place must be a marvelous thing, and take precedence of all other things. For that without which nothing else can exist, while it can exist without the others, must needs be first; for place does not pass out of existence when the things in it are annihilated." – Hesiod_

Somewhere in this void, the elements of creation began organizing themselves into distinctive shapes. Eventually, **Gaea** (jee-uh/jay-uh) or Gaia (guy-ah/gay-uh) the earth goddess was born as the first life. She was Earth itself, and publicly displayed herself as a woman half-risen in the dirt due to her inability to physically separate from her native element. She was the ideal mother of all, very loving and protective of her offspring, and vengeful when they were threatened or harmed. When humans were created, she did not interact much with them. In ancient Greece, she was worshipped as the giver of dreams and the nourisher of plants and young children with her celebrations involving the sacrificing of pregnant cows. Back then, Gaea was the original deity behind the Oracle at Delphi and oaths sworn in her name were the most binding of all.

Next, **Chronos** was born. Do not confuse him with Kronos (notice the different spellings). Chronos was "all-consuming time, who for the human mind increases endlessly, cannot in any way be separated from the orderly experience of life, which is not conceivable without him." Chronos drove time forward, but let's say if he drove it backward, then "Death would come before birth, and old age would precede youth and childhood." There was/is three (arguably four) temporal dimensions of time: past, present, future, (fourth being eternity).

Next came **Erebus** (er-uh-bus), who was primordial darkness, shadow, and the Infernal Regions beneath the earth. He was/is often used interchangeably for Hades itself. He gave a small part of his realm to Tartarus when he arrived.

Next was **Tartarus**, the hell-pit and the god of nothingness (not to be confused with Chaos, who represented a more gaping realm). The hell-pit is the darkest, deepest, dankest, gloomiest abyss of the Underworld where all waters originate (all rivers flow into and out of the chasm) and where the gods would imprison their enemies. According to Hesiod, a bronze anvil falling from heaven would take nine days and nights to reach earth, then take the same amount of time to fall from earth into Tartarus. When a monster is slain, it is sent to Tartarus until their scattered essences gather and reform, which could take weeks to centuries depending on the power of their essences.

Finally, the last Protogenoi was born. **Nyx** (nicks), was night, a powerful dark-robed goddess "who dictates not only to men but also to gods. Even Zeus does not wish to upset Night." Her home is in Tartarus and she is highly appreciated by criminals and thieves for her ability to cover up their acts.

Nyx and Erebus mated and gave birth to **Aether**, the heaven and the atmosphere, and **Hemera**, day, who later became a sister-wife to Aether, mated with him, and birthed **Thalassa**, the primordial goddess of the sea that would later become consort to Pontus.

Parthenogenetically, Nyx birthed:

**Momus**, "censure", god of mockery, blame, ridicule, scorn, complaint, and stinging criticism

**Geras**, god of old age. He may be seen at the entrance of the Underworld. Mortals have no defense against old age. Immortality is useless and becomes a torment if agelessness does not come with it. Old age is a heavy burden, gloomy and deadly, a dream that is mostly dreamed by day, since Old Age allows but little sleep.

**Moros**, god of doom

**Hypnos**, "the bountiful" god of sleep, younger brother of Thanatos. Some say he is the one god that is dearest to the Muses. He is the parthenogenetic father of the **Oneiroi**, spirits of dreams.

**...Morpheus**, god of dreams and leader of the Oneiroi. He is a cunning imitator of the human form.

**...Phobetor**, represents the forms of beats, birds, or serpents in dreams

**...Phantasos**, spirit in charge of presenting images of earth, rocks, water, trees, or other lifeless things in dreams

**Charon**, the ferryman of the dead. In ancient Greek literature and vase paintings, he was depicted as appallingly filthy, with eyes like jets of fire, and a dirty cloak hanging from his shoulders. Today, he is tall and elegant, with chocolate-colored skin and bleached-blonde hair shaved military style. He wears a silk Italian suit that matched his hair. His eyes are empty, full of death and despair. You can find Charon at DOA Recording Studios in Los Angeles, CA.

**Thanatos**, the god of _peaceful death_, whose touch was gentle like Hypnos'. Mortals, who call him black, evil, and grievous, hate and fear him. His arrival is often regarded as unannounced or sudden, causing even surprise. Those who fear him consider this fear and some of them use Death as an instrument of intimidation and turning themselves into bringers of Death, threaten other mortals with prematurely sending them to another world. This behavior is usually caused by disputes concerning wealth, power, sexual satisfaction, or other things deriving from these three. Mortals often see and depict Death as a skeleton or a mysterious hooded figure carrying a scythe who is merciless, undiscriminating, and sharing a mutual hatred for both the other gods as well as mortals. In reality, Thanatos is lean and muscular, with a regal face, honey gold eyes, and long black hair. His skin the color of teakwood, and his angel wings glimmer in shades of blue, black, and purple. He's frequently mistaken for the god of love and his weapon of choice is the scythe. He doesn't seem to care about returning favors.

**Nemesis** (though her parents are still argued to be Oceanus and Tethys or Nyx and Erebus), "dispenser of dues", goddess of revenge, karma, balance, indignation against, and retribution for, evil deeds and undeserved good fortune, chiefly the avenger of crimes and punisher of hubris. She's sometimes depicted as a cold and even cruel winged goddess whose ruthlessness is not exempt from even her own children. However, she does have a strong sense of honor, being both fair and intense.

**Oizys**, spirit of distress, worry, and anxiety

**Apate**, goddess of deceit, guile, fraud, and deception

**Philotes,** goddess of friendship and affection

**The Keres**, spirits of _violent or cruel_ death usually found wandering around battlefields feeding on death. They were the antithesis of Thanatos. They are described as part humanoid females, part bats; with pug-nosed and furry faces, fangs, bulging eyes, shriveled arms, claws, leathery wings, and stubby bowed legs. They have deadly poison that only the power of a god or Titan can heal.

**The Fates**, "the apportioners", controllers of the fate of every being in the universe. They were three bony old ladies in white robes who knitted large socks from the blue thread of life.

**...Clotho**, goddess of birth, spinner of the life thread

**...Lachesis**, goddess of life, measures the life thread and determines how long it should be

**...Atropos**, goddess of death, cuts the life thread with her shears (then gets out her phone and text-messages names of the doomed to Thanatos)

_"He who is destined to become a carpenter, will become one even if his hands have been cut off: and he who has been destined to carry off the prize for running in the Olympic games, will not fail to win even if he broke his leg: and a man to whom the Fates have decreed that he shall be an eminent archer, will not miss the mark, even though he lost his eyesight." – Flavius Philostratus_


	5. Earthborn & Offspring of Oceanus

As the earth (Gaea) matured, she parthenogenetically bore Ouranos, ruler of the heavens and the sky itself. The sky grew as huge as the earth, allowing him to envelope and mate with her. This caused the birth of the rest of the physical world: flowers, trees, the ourea (gods and goddesses of the mountains), and Pontus, the god of the sea and the literal sea. She also gave birth to the following:

The Twelve Titans (6 Sons, 6 Daughters, who Ouranos called "The Straining Gods")

Oceanus, the eldest of the Titans and god of earth's oceans

Hyperion, "watcher from above", god of light and the east

Koios, god of intelligence, deep searching questions, the Earth's axis, and the north

Krios, "The Ram", god of stars and constellations, and the south

Iapetus, "The Piercer", god of mortality (life-span), pain, death, and the west

Kronos, "The Crooked One", King of the Titans, the youngest of the Titans, god of harvest, the destructive tendencies of time, the ages, and fate

Rhea, Queen of the Titans and consort to Kronos, goddess of female fertility, motherhood, generation, comfort, blessing, and ease

Theia, consort to Hyperion, goddess of sight, enlightenment, and the shining light of the clear blue sky

Phoebe, "The Inquirer", consort to Koios, goddess of darkness, mysteries, and bright intellect

Mnemosyne, inventress of language and words, goddess of memory and memorization, remembrance

Themis, oracular goddess of culture, divine justice, law, and order—the traditional rules of conduct first established by the Olympian gods yet to come, became the deity behind the Oracle at Delphi when she received the position from Gaea, wears a blindfold over her eyes; the blindfold symbolized her impartiality in judgment and setting reward or penalty to the dead. Protector of the oppressed and of hospitality, and had secrets unknown even to Zeus.

Tethys, consort to Oceanus, goddess of fresh water and nursing

The Three Elder Cyclopes (immortal, later forged the lightning bolts of Zeus)

Brontes, "thunder"

Steropes, "lightning"

Arges, "brightness"

The Three Hekatonkheires ("Hundred-Handed Ones", also had fifty heads, each with a different emotion)

Briares "the Vigorous", "the Strong"

Cottus "the Striker", "the Furious"

Gyges "the Big-Limbed", "the Vaulter", "the Crippler"

* * *

With Oceanus, Tethys birthed:

the gods of rivers and streams of the earth

...Naiads, spring and fountain nymphs

...Doris, nymph wife to Nereus, the goddess of the rich fishing grounds found at the mouths of rivers where fresh water mingled with the brine

...Pleione, consort to Atlas

Hesperius, consort to Atlas

the Oceanids, three thousand goddess nymphs who presided over the source of earth's fresh-water, ranging from rainclouds to subterranean springs and fountains. Their numbers included:

...Nephelai, the cloud-nymphs

...Aurai, the breeze-nymphs

...Leimonides, the pasture nymphs

...Anthousai, the flower nymphs

...Clymene, goddess of renown, fame, and infamy, consort to Iapetus

...Elektra

...Philyra, married to Nauplius. Goddess of perfume, writing, healing, beauty, and paper, later taught humanity to make paper

The Kerkopes, a pair of forest thieves (Passalus and Acmon) who will later be turned into the first monkeys by Zeus as punishment for their crimes, they were later captured by Heracles, who was so amused with their jokes that he set them free unharmed; proverbial liars, cheats, and knave

Eurynome, Titan goddess of water-meadows and pasturelands, one of the elder Oceanids


	6. Rivers of the Underworld

_"A__fter death there is no annihilation. The dead are dead because they lead a flavorless and unhappy existence in the Underworld. Those who for practical purposes are dead, but nevertheless exist and well in all the happiness in the Isles of the Blessed or Elysium, are called Immortals. So life and death are qualities of existence, not lack of it." – Maiacar_

Charon ferries the dead across these rivers, which converge on the Stygian Marsh in the center of Hades, represent transitions from life into death, and mirror the transitions of the living survivors in dealing with the dead. These rivers were children of Oceanus and Tethys, separating the land of the living from the realm of Hades. Back in ancient Greece, the dead must offer an obolus, a Greek silver coin worth one-sixth of a drachma, to Charon in order to cross the five rivers to reach the Underworld.

**Acheron** (ak-uh-ron)—the river of woe an pain. The first transition from life to death is passing through grief. When one dies, the grief and woe of our mundane lives is over forever. Therefore, the shades of the Underworld cross over Acheron and leave the vale of tears behind them. For the survivor who has lost a loved one, the first river to cross is this one. Our grief may seem uncontainable, but it is a necessary transition for us to get on with our lives.

**Cocytus** (koh-kie-tus)—river of lamentations. Once one has passed through grief and left it behind, then there is the depression and concurrent wailing over loss. Our grief and woes are outdated, but there is still the mourning that must be done. We mourn our losses, not our pain or grief. We cry because of what we have lost, our joys and passions, which turn to dust and ashes in our memory. For the living, this river represents the crying we must do after the shock of our grief. Whereas the grief is overwhelming, the crying and mourning we do is purifying and cleansing. We go from the terror and passion of our grief to crying for what we no longer have. It is during this phase that depression sets in. Crying allows us to wash away those moments of depression and leave us with a hollow feeling of bruised loss.

**Phlegethon** (fleg-uh-thon)/ **Pyriphlegethon** (pir-uh-fleg-u-thon)—the river of fire. It is said that the goddess Styx was in love with Phlegethon, but she was consumed by his flames and sent to Hades. Eventually, when Hades allowed her river to flow through, they reunited. Phlegethon allows the penitent sinner who is dead to burn, or more literally boil, away his guilt. It is through pain that one successfully leaves behind the guilt we have accumulated in our mundane lives. After our depression and sorrows have been cleansed, we must deal with the consequences of our actions. Phlegethon is the Underworld's way of dealing with all of our bad karma. For the one who has lost a loved one, this Phlegethon is the pain that we suffer when we focus on our regrets. When we lose someone we love, it is not uncommon for us to blame ourselves, and then focus on all the ways we failed that loved one. This pain is important to our grieving process, but only if it is a transition to what comes after. We must leave these "might have beens" behind, for they only make us miserable, and they cannot be changed now.

**Lethe** (lee-thee)—river of forgetfulness. Lethe is the river you drink from in order to leave the world above forever. Death is saying goodbye to the world, but after one says goodbye, one should actually leave, although sometimes long-term guests seem to forget this. Lethe allows one to put life behind and get on with the afterlife. For the living, Lethe represents the transition when one has grieved completely. There comes a time when the pain of a loss becomes like a lost tooth that we feel constantly as an empty place. But from the outside, we appear as if we have come back to the normal world. To the outside world, who has no conception of what our loss was like, we seem to have "dealt with it." The truth, though, is that we have transitioned to a new place, not to the place we were before. We have changed because we have trod a long and difficult path. We went through grief, lamentation, guilt. However, we came out of it. We are changed, but we are better than we were before, because we are riper and more mature. When one touches the river's waters, they forget everything that they have ever learned.

**Styx** (sticks)- the river of hate, but also means "detested." The fifth and final river of the Underworld. In its adjectival form, "stygian" means dark and dismal. It circles the Underworld nine times and serves as the boundary of hell. When one dies without the promise of salvation, in a state of sin, with the heavy weight of hate in one's soul, then one is condemned by one's own decisions and actions. For those of us who are still over the dirt and not in it, this river represents the life of a damaged person who cannot let go of the pain done to them by someone who has died. If we cannot enjoy the forgiveness and forgetting of Lethe, then we are doomed to the poisonous and destructive acid of Styx. Styx, in mythology, also had the power to confer immortality and invulnerability. In order to bathe in the Styx, one must ask their mother's blessing, and then they have to survive the Stygian acid so they can become invulnerable. The only spot where one who has bathed in the River Styx is vulnerable is in their 'Achilles Heel', a spot of the bather's choosing that will keep them grounded to the real world and their mortal life after they bathe in the river. If the person does not focus on that point while bathing in the river, their soul will be incinerated and wash away in the current. After Achilles' death, his ghost appears to anyone who wishes to receive the curse, warning him or her not to. The ghost claims it will affect them highly. When Hades put the River Styx in the Underworld and she bore Zeus's enforcers, Zeus rewarded her by making her streams the agent of the binding oath of the gods, transferring that power from Gaea. Gods who break oaths on the Styx apparently "get off lightly" on the account of being immortal. The penalty for breaking an oath sworn by the Styx is to drink from it, which causes the gods to loose their voices for nine years, and also results in being in being expelled from the council of the gods for nine years afterwards. It is unknown what would happen if a lesser entity were to break an oath on the Styx but it is considered unpleasant.

* * *

**Eridanos and Alpheus**

There are only two other important rivers in Hades. Eridanos and Alphes are rivers that pass through Hades as well as the terrestrial regions. They were actual rivers that humans could visit which passed into subterranean passages. They represent the intimate connection of life and death. If we see death as an ending instead of a transition into something else, the death is always an enemy and something to be feared. But death is really just a movement from one life into another, an adventure that we do not need to fear.


	7. Offspring of Hyperion & Eos

Hyperion + Theia:

**Helios**, Titan god of the sun and the gift of sight. This guardian of oaths dwelt in a golden palace located in the ocean at the eastern ends of the earth. From there he emerged each dawn driving a chariot drawn by four fiery-winged steeds and crowned with the aureole of the sun. When he reached the land of the Hesperides in the west, he descended into a golden cup, which carried him around the northern streams of Oceanus back to his rising place in the east. This handsome youth "faded" after which his duty of driving the sun chariot was passed on to Apollo. Helios + Clymene:

…~**Phaethon**/**Phaëton**, "the shining" or "radiant one", who would later beg his father to let him drive the sun chariot. Reluctantly, he handed him the reigns. The inexperienced Phaethon lost control of the immortal steeds and sent the chariot veering out of control, setting the earth aflame, scorching the plains of Africa to desert (creating the Sahara Desert). Appalled by the destruction, Zeus struck the boy from the chariot with a thunderbolt, hurling his flaming body into the River Eridanos. After his death, which was a major factor in causing Helios to "fade away", he was placed among the stars as the constellation Auriga ("the Charioteer").

…~The **Heliades**, seven nymph daughters who gathered around their brother Phaethon's smoky grave on the banks of the River Eridanos and, in their unrelenting grief, were transformed into poplar trees and their tears into golden amber.

**Selene** (suh-lee-nee)**,** goddess of the moon before she gave her position to Artemis. She's known for her countless love affairs, her most famous being the shepherd prince Endymion, to whom she granted eternal youth and immortality and placed in a state of eternal slumber in a cave near the peak of Lydian Mount Latmos. Other affairs included her involvement with Zeus and Pan, who gave her a herd of white oxen. Selene resembled a young woman with an extremely pale face who traveled on a silver chariot drawn by two horses (though, she is often shown riding a horse or a bull.) She was said to wear robes, carry a torch, and wear a half moon on her head. After her brother Helios completes his journey across the sky, she begins hers. Before her journey, she bathes in the sea.

Selene + Endymion = the **goddesses of the lunar months**

Selene + Zeus:

~**Pandeia**, goddess of the full moon and earth-nourishing dew

~**Eos**, "rosy-fingered" goddess of the dawn

* * *

Astraeus + Eos:

The **Anemoi**, gods of the directional winds who work for Aeolus.

**Zephyrus**, the gentle god of the west wind that carried Olympus to the central point of Western civilization, bringer of light spring and early summer breezes. His most famous myth told the story of his rivalry with Apollo for the love of Hyacinthus.

…~(By Chloris): **Karpos** (fruit)

…~(By Podarge, a harpy): **Xanthos** and **Balios**, two immortal horses that Poseidon gave Peleus at his wedding to the goddess Thetis. They drew the chariot of the couple's son, Achiles, during the Trojan War.

**Notus**, god of the south wind and bringer of the storms of late summer and early autumn.

**Eurus**, god of the east wind. Nothing much is told about him.

The **Astra**, gods of the five wandering stars of planets: **Phainon** (the planet of Kronos/Saturn), **Phaethon** (planet of Zeus/Jupiter), **Pyroeis** (aka Mesonyx, "the Midnight Star", planet of Ares/Mars), **Eosphoros** (planet of Aphrodite/Venus), and **Stilbon** ("to gleam", "to glitter", planet of Hermes/Mercury)

**Boreas**, god of the north wind and bringer of cold winter air

Boreas + Orithyia, before her being ranted immortality: **Zethes**, **Calais** … (after): **Khione**, goddess of snow

Boreas + the mares of Erikthonios, king of Troy: The **Trojan horses** and twelve immortal horses

Boreas + the Furies: the **four fire-breathing immortal horses** that drew the chariot of Ares

Boreas + a random harpy: **Erechthean horses**, immortal chariot steeds of Erechtheus of Athens who Boreas gave as a bride price for his daughter Orithyia.

Boreas + Khione: the **Hyperborean giants**

Parthenogenetically: **Hekaerge** (distancing), **Loxo **(trajectory), and **Oupis** (aim), nymphs of Hyperborea, who would later become attendants of Artemis to preside over the various skills of archery.

Khione + Poseidon: **Eumolpus**, yet another person in mythology nobody knows anything about.

* * *

**Orithyia**, "the mountain rager" daughter of Erechtheus and Praxithea (a naiad of a water source in Athens). Once a mortal princess, she was abducted from the banks of the river Illisos near Athens and taken to Thrace to be made Boreas's immortal wife and goddess of chill mountain winds.

**Zethes**, a demigod who traveled to retrieve the Golden Fleece with Jason and the Argonauts. His father offered him and his brother Calais immortality.

**Calais**, Zethes' demigod brother who also traveled to retrieve the Golden Fleece. Since he was one of the Argonauts, he helped in freeing Phineas from the harpies. Along with his brother, he succeeded in driving the monsters away, but didn't kill them due to the request of Iris. She promised the Argonauts that Phineas would not be harmed by the harpies again. As thanks, Phineas told them how to pass the Sympleglades. It's said that the goddess at the Strophades (Iris), meaning "Island of Turning", will turn him and his brother back. Hercules caused Calais's and his brother's death after tricking Hercules in leaving him behind in searching for Hylas.

The **Eumolpidae** in charge of the _Eleusinian__ mysteries_ claimed descent from Khione, as the mother of Eumolpus with Poseidon.


	8. Offspring of Krios, Koios, & Iapetus

With Krios, Eurybia birthed:

Astraeus, god of the stars and planets and the art of astronomy

Pallas, "to brandish (a spear)", god of warcraft and the Greek campaign season of late spring and early summer

..._By Styx: _Zeus's winged enforcers who stood in attendance of the heavenly throne

...o...Zelus, god of eager rivalry, emulation, envy, jealousy, and zeal

...o...Bia, goddess of force, power, might, bodily strength, and compulsion

...o...Kratos, god of strength, might, power, and sovereign rule

...o...Nike (nie-key), goddess of victory, both in battle and peaceful competition

Perses, "The Destroyer", Titan god of destruction

..._By Asteria:_ Hecate, goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts, wilderness, childbirth, and necromancy, given shares of the sky, sea, and earth by Zeus as she was honored above all others

...o..._By Helios, Hecate birthed:_ Circe, "to secure with rings", "to hoop around", goddess who lived with her nymph attendants on the mythical island of Aiaia, skilled in the magic of metamorphosis, the power of illusion, and the dark art of necromancy

* * *

With Koios, Phoebe birthed:

Leto, Titan goddess of motherhood, modesty, and womanly demure, protectress of the young

Asteria, goddess of the oracles and prophecies of night, including prophetic dreams, the reading of the stars (astrology), and necromancy

* * *

With Iapetus, Clymene birthed:

Atlas, god of endurance and the constellation Kneeler, the Titan who turns heaven on its axis, causing the stars to revolve

..._By Pleione:_

...o...The Pleiades, "plenty", seven mountain nymph daughters, their leader was Maia, the rest of them included Taygete, Elektra, Alkyone, Sterope, Kelaino, and Merope

...o...The Hyades, "the Rainy Ones", nymphs of the five stars of the constellation Hyades. After their brother was killed by a lion, the tear-soaked sisters were placed among the stars as the constellation Hyades

...o...Hyas, god of seasonal rains. After he was killed by a lion, he was set amongst the stars as the constellation Aquarius along with the lion Leo. Aquarius and Leo do not share the sky at the same time, one setting as the other rises.

..._By Hesperus:_

...o...The Hesperides, four nymph goddesses of the evening and the golden light of sunset

..._By Tethys:_ Calypso, born and imprisoned on the phantom island of Ogygia (oh'jee'jee'ah) by Zeus because her father is Atlas, she cannot leave the island, while others can, when the gods of Olympus take pity on a hero, they send them to Ogygia so that Calypso will nourish them and bring them back to full health, but as a punishment, all the heroes sent to her attract her and she falls in love with them, but they can never stay with her even though the heroes would be granted immortal and ageless, and Calypso is always left with a broken heart after they leave

Prometheus (prom'ee'thee'us), god of forethought and crafty counsel

Epimetheus (ep'ee'mee'thee'us), god of afterthought and the father of excuses

Menoetius, god of violent anger, rash action, and human mortality, Zeus later struck him down with a thunderbolt and sent him to the Underworld as punishment for his hubristic behavior


	9. Castration of Ouranos

Disgusted of their appearances and fearful of their strength, Ouranos locked the Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires in Tartarus, causing Gaea great pain in her womb. In desperate revenge and desire to save her sons, she ordered the Telekhines to create a scythe that was half-steel half-celestial bronze and posted Krios, Koios, Hyperion, and Iapetus at the four corners of the world to seize hold of their father. Meanwhile, Ouranos was making his way toward her center, the only unguarded place, to mate with her one final time. Kronos, the only daring Titan who envied the sky god's power, took the ready-made scythe, hid in Gaea's center, and ambushed and castrated Ouranos.

*****Telekhines** (tel-kie-neez) are "fish children" of Thalassa and Pontus; magician-smiths; who invented the art of metalworking; have faces like dogs, with black snouts, brown eyes, and pointy ears. Their bodies are sleek and black like a seal's skin and they walk with stubby legs that are half-flipper half foot. They have human-like hands with sharp claws. Full-grown adults can be up to 2.5m tall. Telekhines bark and growl and waddle instead of walk.

Consequently, Kronos tossed his father's testicles into the sea where white foam then formed around them from exposure to immortal flesh. In the foam grew and birthed the earliest Olympian, **Aphrodite**. She is the goddess of love, cosmetics, sexuality, pleasure, procreation, and beauty. Her sacred symbols are the girdle (which she used to compel love), seashell, mirror, scallop shell, myrtle, dove, sparrow, and swan.

Meanwhile, from the blood that spilled from Ouranos (remember this is separate from the seafoam) onto the earth came forth **the Giants** ("The Earthborn") fully clad in armor and wielding spears.

**Alcyoneus** (al-sy-uh-nyoos) is king of the Thracian giants, who is immortal only within the confines of his homeland (which at the time was Pallene), is the eldest of the giants, and had seven nymph daughters known as the **Alcyonides** (later transformed into kingfishers).

**Porphyrion** (por-fear-ee-on), whose name means "the Surging" or "gleaming darkly", is king of the Arcadian giants, but most commonly known as the King of All Giants.

**Enceladus** (en-sell-ah-dus), whose name means "Sound the Charge" or "Trumpeter to Arms", was the most intellectual of the three great giants.

Other giants include **Polybotes** (pawl-ee-bots), whose name means "fertile or "feeding many", **Klytios**, **Tityus**, **Eurytos**, **Gration**, **Thoon**,** Agrius**, **Mimas**, **Syceus**, and** Pallas **("goat-like").

The three** Furies** came second from Ouranos' blood. They're known as the "Angry Ones" or the "Kindly Ones", goddesses of vengeance.

**...Alecto** (uh-lek-toh), "the Unceasing", "the Endless" castigated moral crimes, especially if they are against other people.

**...Tisiphone** (tis-sif-uh-nee), "the Avenger", "the Retaliator", punished crimes of murder.

**...Megaera** (muh-jeer-uh), "the Jealous One", "the Grudging", "the Unwilling", causes jealousy and envy, and punishes people who commit crimes, especially martial infidelity.

Finally, the ash-tree nymphs spawned.

* * *

Following Ouranos' castration, Gaea mated with Pontus and gave birth to:

**Nereus** (or Proteus), the Old Man of the Sea, god of the sea's rich bounty of fish. In addition to being a master shapeshifter, he knows everything and, if captured, will allow his captor to ask him one question pertaining to anything. Nereus met with Doris, who birthed the **Nereids**, goddesses of the sea, patrons of sailors and fishermen. They had in their care the sea's rich bounty and individually represented various facets of the sea, from salty brine, to foam, sand, rocky shores, waves, and currents and even various skills possessed by seamen. Nereids dwelt with their father in a silver cavern at the bottom of the Aegean Sea. Thetis was their unofficial leader.

**Thaumas**, "miracle" or "wonder", god of the wonders of the sea. He went with the oceanid Elektra, who birthed:

**… Harpies**, "that which snatches", which were winged hags, spirits of sudden, sharp gusts of wind and known as the hounds of Zeus, dispatched by the god to snatch away people and things from the earth. Sudden, mysterious disappearances were often attributed to harpies.

**… Iris**, "the rainbow messenger", goddess of the rainbow. She will later become a messenger for the Olympian gods and link the gods to humanity. She can travel with the speed of wind from one end of the world to the other, and into the depths of the sea and Underworld. She carries Iris-Messages (IM) for gods, goddesses, and if asked nicely and she is not too busy, to demigods. To IM somebody, one must find or make a rainbow, throw a drachma through it, and then say: _"O, Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept our offering"_ and the name of the person you wish to speak to and where they may be found. Consort to Zephyrus, she birthed **Pothus**, the god of sexual longing.

**Phorcys**, "whale" or "sea-monster", god of the hidden dangers of the deep. He went with Keto, who gave birth to:

**…The Grey Sisters**, three hags that personified the white foam of the sea. They were grey from birth, shared among themselves a single detachable eye and tooth, and drive the Chariot of Damnation. The Chariot of Damnation is hailed by throwing a golden drachma onto a street within their service area. When it is hailed, the chariot will materialize on the spot where the drachma landed. The Grey Sisters' names are Anger (Deino, "the terrible"), Tempest (Persis or Perso, "the destroyer"), and Wasp (Pemphredo, "she who guides the way").

**…**Three spirits named Medusa, Sthenno, and Euryale. **Medusa** was the youngest, most beautiful, most famous of the three, and the only mortal of the tree. **Euryale** was known for bellowing cries. **Sthenno** was the eldest and most vicious of the sisters. Later in myth, they will turn into the three Gorgons on account of Medusa and Poseidon's get-together being caught out by Athena.

**…Echidna**, "she-viper", "mother of all monsters", a monstrous dracaenae with the head and breast of a woman. She represents and presides over the corruptions of the earth: rot, slime, fetid waters, illness, and disease. Some call her the "Tartarean lamprey". Her consort is Typhon and the site of her cave Homer calls "Arima, couch of Typhon". When she and her mate, Typhon, attacked the Olympians during the First Olympian War, Zeus defeated them, but allowed Echidna and her monster children to live as a challenge to future heroes. She was first killed where she slept by Hera's minion, Argus Panoptes. By Typhon:

**…~Nemean Lion**, a lion about the size of a pick-up truck, with silver claws that were sharper than swords and could cut through any armor, and golden glittering fur that was invulnerable to damage (bulletproof, swordproof—impervious to weapons). It lived in Nemea. Later, Heracles would kill it and wear its pelt for his first of his Twelve Labors and Zeus will place the lion amongst the stars as the constellation Leo.

**…~Chimera**, a monstrous beast that ravaged the countryside of Lycia in Anatolia. It has the head and body of a lion, a goat's head rising from its back, and a snake-headed tail with venomous fangs. From its lion head, it can breathe fire. Later, Bellerophon would kill it, with the help of Pegasus, at the command of King Iobates of Lycia.

**…~Sphinx**, "The Master of Riddles", a female monster with the body of a lion, the head of a woman, and eagle's wings. Her homeland was Ethiopia in Africa. The gods later sent her to plague the town of Thebes as punishment for some ancient crime. There she preyed on the youths of the land, devouring all those who failed to solve her famous riddle: _"Which creature in the morning goes on four legs, at midday on two, and in the evening upon three, and the more legs it has, the weaker it be?"_ However, the exact riddle asked by the Sphinx was not specified by early tellers of the stories and was not standardized as the one given above until late in Greek history. By some rare accounts, there was a second riddle: _"There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first."_ The answer was day and night. Kreon, the regent of Thebes, offered the kingship to any man who could destroy her. Oedipus would be the one to solve the first riddle, saying the answer was Man—who crawls on all fours as a baby, then walks on two feet as an adult, and then walks with a cane in old age. Bested at last, the Sphinx then committed suicide by throwing herself from her high rock. An alternative version tells that she devoured herself. Today, she doesn't ask real riddles, but a series of random trivia question in the form of a game show type trap called Answer That Riddle, because she says that everyone knew the answer to her ancient riddles so she changed the questions. If the contestants lose, they will be eaten. She uses machines to grade the tests.

**…~Lernean Hydra**, a gigantic, nine-headed water serpent that haunted the swamps of Lerna. For each head that is decapitated, two more spring forth. The only way to kill the hydra(s) is to burn the severed stumps. WARNING: has poisonous breath and spits acid that immediately corrodes the objects it meets. Heracles killed this serpent for the second of his Twelve Labors.

**…~Cerberus**, an enormous semi-transparent, three-headed purebred rottweiler found in front of the EZ Death line at the Gates of Erebus in the Underworld. He guards the Underworld. For his twelfth labor, Heracles overpowered this beast, slung it over his back, dragged it out of the Underworld through a cavern entrance in the Peloponnese, and brought it to Eurystheus. Eurystheus then proceeded to jump into a _pithos_ and asked the legendary hero to return Cerberus to the Underworld in exchange for releasing him from his labors.

**…~Orthrus**, "morning twilight", "straight", or "height", a two-headed dog that guarded Geryon's—his master—fabulous herd of red-skinned cattle sacred to Apollo. Now resides on Triple G Ranch with Eurytion. Heracles eventually slew Orthrus, Eurytion, and Geryon, before taking the red cattle to complete his tenth labor.

**…~Crommyonian Sow**, a monstrous wild pig that terrorized the countryside around Crommyon on the Corinthian Isthmus. It was the pet of an old hag named Phaea ("the Grey").

**…~The Colchian Dragon**, an ever-wakeful, giant serpent that guarded the Golden Fleece in the sacred grove of Ares at Colchis.

**…~Clazmonian Sow**, a savage and formidable wild beast; a huge pig with wigs and a cry that was similar to the Erymanthian Boar. Her wings and skin were pink like a flamingo's and she could rip up entire forests with her hooves and destroy wildlife with her noxious breath.

**Keto**, goddess of the hidden dangers of the deep, more specifically whales, large sharks, and sea monsters.

**Eurybia**, "who has a heart of flint within her", goddess of the master of the seas. She became consort to Krios.

* * *

Gaea, by unknown or by herself, gives birth to the Ophiotaurus and Python. The **Ophiotaurus**, known as "the serpent-bull", "cow serpent", or "the Stygian bull", was the ancient god-slayer monster born with, as you might've imagined, the foreparts of a bull and the tail of a serpent. The Fates ordained a prophecy that said whoever slew and sacrificed its entrails had the power to destroy the gods. **Python** was a monstrous serpent who Gaea appointed to guard the Oracle at Delphi.

* * *

Since Ouranos couldn't have anymore offspring, Kronos felt he had finally overthrown him and became so obsessed with his power that he didn't remain true to his word. He set the she-dragon **Kampê** ("crooked") to guard the prisoners he imprisoned in Tartarus. Then, he fell in love with his sister Rhea (but not even his love for her quenched his lust for power) and they took the throne of the world as king and queen upon Mount Olympus in Thessaly. There they ruled the beginning of the Golden Age, the first age of humankind. By Kronos, Rhea birthed the first generation of the Olympians.

**Hestia**, "The Forgotten Goddess", "The First and Last", "the essence", virgin goddess of the hearth (both private and municipal), the home, family, and the sacrificial flame. She was the first child born of Kronos and Rhea. Every household in Greece had a sacrificial flame in her honor. She presides over the cooking of bread and the preparation of the family meal.

**Demeter**, goddess of agriculture, milling, horticulture, and bread. She presided over the foremost of the _Mystery Cults_, which promised its initiates the path to a blessed afterlife (passage to Elysium). Her sacred symbols are the cornucopia, serpent, gecko, turtle-dove, and the screech owl.

**Hera**, goddess of women, motherhood, virginity, childbirth, kings, empires, heirs, and marriage (includes divorce). Her symbols are the cow, crown, Lotus-staff, cuckoo, crane, and the peacock.

**Hades**, "The Rich One", "The Invisible", god of wealth, the minerals of the earth, the Underworld, necromancy, and the dead. He is one of the Big Three Olympians. His symbols are the two-pronged staff, cypress, and the narcissus.

**Poseidon**, "the Earthshaker", "Father of Horses", god of the seas, earthquakes, flood, drought, earthquakes, and horses. He is one of the Big Three Olympians. His symbols are the bull, trident, dolphins, and fish.

**Zeus**, god of the sky, lightning, rain, thunder, wind, justice, hospitality, oaths, heaven, earth, and fate. He is one of the Big Three Olympians and his symbols are the bull oak, the eagle, and the lightning bolt.


	10. Chiron & The Titanomachy

Kronos coupled with Philyra after the birth of his Olympian sons and daughters. When his wife, Rhea, suddenly appeared on the scene, he transformed himself into a horse and continued to seduce Philyra so that she birthed Chiron, "skilled with the hands", the eldest and wisest of the centaurs (his horse body white). Philyra, disgusted at Chiron's half-horse appearance, abandoned him, and a tribe of centaurs took Chiron into their care and raised him.

Chiron, unlike his centaur brethren, was intelligent, civilized, kind, and somewhat of a fatherly figure towards the demigods he trains. Known for his knowledge and skill with medicine taught by Apollo and Artemis in his younger days.

Chiron's haunts were on Mount Pelion; there he married the nymph Chariclo, who bore him three daughters: Hippe, Endeis, and Ocyrhoe, and one son, Carystus.

During the Age of Heroes, he mentored many mortals and demigods that went on to become legendary. Such heroes included Jason, Peleus, Asclepius, Aristaeus, Ajax, Aeneas, Actaeon, Caeneus, Theseus, Achilles, Telemon, Heracles, Oileus, Phoenix, and many others. Thirsty Heracles stopped to visit Pholus to persuade him to open a jar of wine that was the common property of the centaurs. The other centaurs smelled the wine and came running, causing a fight to break out between the legendary hero and the centaurs. Chiron took no part in the fight, but Heracles accidentally wounded Chiron with an arrow coated in hydra venom. The wound was incurable. Zeus placed Chiron amongst the stars as the constellation Sagittarius and granted him his wish before he could die; that he could remain immortal and teach demigods until he was no longer needed. Soon after, Camp Half-Blood was formed and Chiron was elected the activities director.

* * *

Angry at Kronos's refusal to rescue his brothers, Gaea gave him a prophetic warning that one of his sons would overthrow him as Kronos did with his father. Fearful, the Titan Lord then attempted to avoid this fate by devouring his children as they were born (excluding Chiron). Unceasing grief seized Rhea when she began to see her husband's insanity and selfish nature, and when she was about to bear Zeus, she besought her parents that the birth of her child might be concealed, and that retribution might overtake Kronos for his own father and also for the children whom he had swallowed down. Gaea and castrated Ouranos readily heard and obeyed their daughter, and told her all that was destined to happen with Kronos and his son. To conceal her act of leaving, Rhea wrapped a stone in cloths and passed it off as the last child to Kronos, who swallowed it down without question.

..==.. Omphalos— "navel", the name of the stone that Rhea gave to Kronos in Zeus's place, these stones used to denote the center (or "navel") of the world were erected in several areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, the most famous of the Omphalos was at the oracle in Delphi

After Rhea birthed Zeus, she hid him in a cave on Mount Ida in Crete where Gaea then raised him along with a few nymphs. The Cretan Kouretes (or Korybantes, spirit-youths) sang and clashed their swords so that Kronos would not hear Zeus's crying. In one version of the myth, Zeus was dangled from a tree so he was suspended between earth, sea, and sky and invisible to his father, who was the ruler of these dominions. In another version, Zeus was raised by a shepherd family under the promise that their sheep would be saved from wolves.

..==.. Adamanthea (or Amalthea)— uncertain parentage, the goat-nymph who suckled Zeus in his cave and was placed among the stars as the constellation Capra for that deed

..==.. Melissa— a nymph who discovered and taught the use of honey and fed Zeus honey

When Zeus reached adulthood and learned of his godly heritage, he plotted with his grandmother, Gaea, to trick Kronos into disgorging first the stone, then his siblings in reverse order of swallowing. Metis gave Zeus to give to Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine that acted like an emetic and caused Kronos to regurgitate his children (who had grown up unharmed within the Titan's stomach). Zeus then killed the guardian of Tartarus, Kampê, and, with his siblings, released the Hekatonkheires and Elder Cyclopes from their prison.

..==.. Metis—an Oceanid and Titan goddess of good counsel, advise, planning, cunning, craftiness, and wisdom, wife counselor to Zeus during the Titanomachy, Zeus's first wife.

To repay the Olympians for their deed (as a token of gratitude), the Elder Cyclopes forged Zeus his master lightning bolt, Poseidon his trident, and Hades his helm of invisibility. These items each became the gods' sacred symbols.

The Olympians planned a rebellion against Kronos and soon a decade-long war against the Titans broke out. This war was known as the Titanomachy, or the First Titan/Olympian War.

_Olympian Army_—Zeus and his siblings, the Hekatonkheires, the Elder Cyclopes, Prometheus and Epimetheus (only because Prometheus predicted that the Titans would lose, and as a result, neither of them was imprisoned in the aftermath). The Gods fought from Mount Olympus.

_Titan Army_—Kronos and his siblings (except Oceanus and the Titanesses who remained neutral), some of the other Titans' children. The Titans fought from Mount Othrys, their obsidian fort and base of operations.

A giant ally of the Titans slew the Ophiotaurus in search of victory over the Olympians, but Zeus sent an eagle to snatch the entrails away before they could be tossed into the fire.

In the final battle, when the Hundred-Handers kept the Titans under a constant barrage of hundreds of thrown rocks, Zeus sliced Kronos to pieces with Kronos's scythe and banished him to Tartarus.

The aftermath:

Atlas was condemned to holding the sky upon his shoulders for eternity.

The Titans who opposed the Olympians were also banished to Tartarus, which was now guarded by the Hekatonkheires.

Zeus became the ruler of Olympus and the world.

The Big Three Olympians divided the spoils of war among themselves, Zeus claiming the heavens and the sky, Poseidon the seas and earthquakes, and Hades the Underworld (though Hades hated this).


	11. The Golden Age

**_The Golden Age_**

This age began when Kronos and Rhea became rulers of the world.

The first generation of the Olympians was born in this age.

After the Titanomachy, under the order of Zeus, Prometheus molded man out of clay in the image of the gods and Athena gave them souls while Epimetheus populated the earth with animals.

Prometheus and Epimetheus then became the representatives of humankind.

How the Golden Race of Men Lived

Theft was not yet invented.

Immorality was absent.

It was a time without need for laws or rules; everyone did the right thing.

Man lived to a very old age with a youthful appearance and eventually died peacefully, but only as if falling asleep.

Man lived among the gods, and freely mingled with them.

Plato clarified that Hesiod did not mean a race of men literally made of gold, but good and noble. Plato described these men as daemons upon the earth, who, when they died, their spirits lived on as "guardians" who roamed the earth.

Primitive communism prevailed.

The earth produced food in such abundance that there was no need for agriculture.

Everyone had sweet, blissful content.

There was no illness and no disease.

Plato wrote in his Symposium that humans have been looking for their soul mate since Zeus cut them in half. He describes a world where there were men, women, and people who were both men and women. The people who were both men and woman had 4 arms, 4 legs, and a head with two faces. Apparently, humans began discussing how they could climb up to heaven and replace the gods. The Olympians were upset by this and discussed what should be done. The simplest solution would be to destroy humankind, but Zeus suggested cutting all human beings in half so that it would serve purposes: it would immediately double the number of people making offerings to the gods and it would weaken the humans, so they would not be able to carry out their plan. Zeus's idea was accepted, and the humans were all divided into two. Naturally, the humans were upset at this, and Zeus decided to enable each half to have intercourse with their opposite, symbolically creating a whole. Consequently, the males sought their female half, and vica versa, allowed them to reproduce.

* * *

Prometheus ridiculed Zeus for his lack of insight. In the trick at Mecone, a sacrifical meal marking the "settling of accounts" between mortals and immortals, Prometheus played a trick against Zeus. He placed two sacrificial offerings before the Olympian: a selection of beef hidden inside an ox's stomach (nourishment hidden inside a displeasing exterior), and the bull's bones wrapped in "glistening fat" (something inedible hidden inside a pleasing exterior). Zeus chose the latter, setting a precedent for future sacrifices; henceforth, humans would keep the meat for themselves and burn the bones wrapped in fat as an offering to the gods. This angered Zeus, who hid fire from humans in retribution so they would eat their meat raw.

Because the two representatives of humankind were also given the task of giving each living being a positive trait and Prometheus took so long in crafting man, Epimetheus, lacking foresight, had already used up all the traits so when it was time to give man one, he found that there were no more. Prometheus decided that man's attributes would be the civilizing arts and fire. He felt sorry for his creations for shivering in the cold winter nights and wanted revenge on Zeus for hiding fire from them.

Prometheus arranged a meeting with Athena and beseeched her for help. She kindly revealed to him a hidden backstairs entrance to Olympus and he gained entrance to the palace of the gods, one of few to do so. Upon arriving, he lit a torch from the fiery chariot of the sun god, as Helios passed by. Breaking off a fragment of glowing charcoal, he hid the fire inside the hollow of a giant fennel-stalk. Prometheus then worked his way down the side of Mount Olympus, blowing out his torch in case Zeus spotted him.

The Titan eventually made it down to earth, proudly gave the fire to humans, and taught all of what Athena taught Prometheus to them. Soon Zeus smelled the scent of cooked meat drifting up to Olympus from earth and when he looked down, he became enraged. He sent Kratos and Bia to escort Prometheus to the Caucasus Mountains where he would be chained to a rock on an isolated mountaintop with chains forged by Hephaestus. For Prometheus's torture, every day the Caucasian eagle is to come and eat out his liver and every night, his liver is to grow back so his torment will seemingly never end. Zeus tried getting out of Prometheus his secrets since Prometheus had all this knowledge, but Prometheus refused to reveal a word.

Zeus delivered Pandora, "all-gifted", "all-endowed", the first woman, to Epimetheus for a bride. She was fashioned by Hephaestus out of clay, brought to life by the four winds, and granted many gifts from the gods (beauty from Aphrodite, persuasiveness from Hermes, and music from Apollo). Athena dressed her in a silvery gown, an embroidered veil, garlands, and an ornate crown of gold. Zeus gave Pandora a pithos (jar) as a wedding present that was not to be opened under any circumstances. When Epimetheus had received Pandora into his house, Pandora, uncontrollably curious and despite the warning, opened the jar. She accidentally released the evil spirits contained within it into the world (one of them was the first empousa). Scared, Pandora immediately closed the jar, only to trap Elpis (Hope) inside, as was Zeus's will. Elpis would serve as a single blessing to succor mankind in their suffering and the evil spirits would forever afterward plague them.

* * *

This series of events ended the Golden Age and began the Silver Age.

..==.. Elpis's opposite was Moros.

..==.. Empousai- "one-footed", succubus-like daimones wearing brazen slippers and bearing flaming hair, had a donkey's leg and a celestial bronze prosthetic leg, they lured young men in the guise of a beautiful woman to their beds to feast on their flesh and blood


	12. Zeus's Wives

_The Silver Age_

Humans lived for 100-years as infants and lived only a short time as grown adults. They spent that time in strife with one another. During this Age, men refused to worship the gods and Zeus destroyed them for their impiety. After death, humans of this age became "blessed spirits" of the Underworld.

The second generation of the Olympians was born in this age.

* * *

Zeus made Metis his first wife, who then got with child. Gaea declared that this would be a girl child and prophesied that if Metis conceived again she would bear a son who was fated to overthrow Zeus. Fearing for his life, Zeus tricked Metis into turning into a fly and devoured her just as Kronos had done to his children, but he was too late. Metis had already conceived within Zeus's belly and started to make the child a full set of armor and some weapons.  
In time, the Sky God was overtaken by an outrageous headache so that his head seemed to burst open and he howled with pain and rage. He called for Hephaestus to split his head open with a hammer or an axe and, fully armed, full armored, and fully-grown, sprung Athena, goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare, defense, heroic endeavor, and the useful arts. Her symbols were the owl, Aegis, olive tree, snake and spider.

Some say Metis still gives Zeus her wise advice from inside his stomach.

* * *

Because the Olympians decided to divide heaven, the sea, and the subterranean land of the dead between themselves, it led to a number of territorial disputes among them. One such dispute included Poseidon vying with Athena to be patron deity of a newly constructed city in Attica during the Age of Heroes.

Kekrops, the first king of the city, told the two gods to make a gift for the city. Poseidon appeared on the Acropolis first. He struck a rock with his trident and a saltwater spring gushed forth, but it was not very useful for the population. Next, Athena appeared, struck her spear in the ground, and caused an olive tree to emerge out of the ground. As it matured in front of Kekrops and his people's eyes, Athena explained the many ways in which its fruit could be useful to them (olive oil, etc.). They were so impressed that they pledged their loyalty to Athena named the city after her (Athens), and built the Parthenon. Angry and displeased, Poseidon cursed the city to have water shortage forever.

Athena's offspring are literally "brain children" as they are born from her mind. When she falls in love with a man, their joined minds are what causes this.

Athena taught Prometheus mathematics, navigation, astronomy, architecture, medicine and many other arts.

* * *

Themis (second wife of Zeus), by Zeus, birthed: The Horae or Horai (the Hours)—three goddesses of the seasons, also guarded the gates of Olympus and rallied the stars and constellations of heaven, honored by Ancient Greek farmers who planted and tended their crops in time with the rising and setting of the stars—measures of the passing seasons

Eunomia, goddess of good order and lawful conduct, associated with the internal stability of a state, including the enactment of good laws and the maintenance of civil order, spring-time goddess of green pastures, her opposite was Dysnomia

Dike, goddess of justice, fair judgments, and the rights established by custom and law, her opposite was Adikia (unknown parent[s], daimon of injustice and wrong-doing)

_...By unknown:_ Hesykthia, spirit of quiet, rest, silence, and stillness

Irene, goddess of peace and of the season of spring, her opposite was Polemus (unknown parent[s], daimon of war and battle, had a daughter named Alala, who was the daimone of the war cry)

* * *

During the days when Kronos still ruled the world, Zeus, while walking around the region of the Hesperides, spotted Hera and fell in love with her. In order to approach her, he transformed himself into a cuckoo bird, started a rainstorm, and landed on a hill where Hera was taking a walk. When she sat down to rest, the cuckoo, frozen from the cold and soaked with rain, flew onto her lap. Hera felt sorry for the bird and warmed it by putting it against her chest. Zeus quickly transformed back into his original self, broke her resistance, and continued to ravish her. So that the goddess could cover her shame and guilt, she agreed to become Zeus's third wife. Their sacred marriage was solemnly celebrated upon Olympus. Gaea gave her a single tree of immortality-giving golden apples as a wedding gift and Hera tasked the Hesperides to tend to it. Not trusting them, Hera set the dragon Ladon to guard the tree as an additional safeguard.


	13. Hephaestus & Ares

Due to Zeus's giving birth to Athena, Hera was angry at his actions, and so she birthed Hephaestus (some say parthenogenetically [with the help of a magical herb], others say by Zeus), who Hera hoped was a child so beautiful, so gifted, that it would make Zeus forget his heroic swarm of children from lesser consorts, but nobody celebrated Hephaestus's entering into this world. When the baby was born, she was appalled to see that he was shriveled and ugly, with an irritating bleating wail. She did not wait for Zeus to see him, but snatched the infant up and hurled him from Olympus

Hera spread a rumor that Zeus threw Hephaestus instead of her.

For 24 hours Hephaestus fell, and landed in the sea near the volcanic isle of Lemnos, and was washed up on the shore, where he lay mewing piteously, unable to crawl, and wracked with pain, but unable to die due to his immortality. The Nereid Thetis and the Oceanid Eurynome rescued the broken Hephaestus and hid him from his mother who, ashamed of him, would have continued to harm him.

The god lived with these goddesses in their underwater caves for 9 years. There, he began to craft beautiful jewelry from the underwater coral reefs and metals found underwater. Eventually, Hera saw some of the jewelry and demanded to know the creator. When she learned it was her own son Hephaestus and recognized the beauty he did not possess physically but could create from the physical world, she forgave him for not being what she had hoped for. She asked Zeus to return him to Olympus, but Hephaestus, happy on Lemnos and angry with his mother, would not comply. He gained revenge against Hera for rejecting him by making her a magical golden throne, which, when she sat on it, did not allow her to leave it. The gods begged Hephaestus to return to Olympus to let her go, but he refused, saying "I have no mother."

Therefore, Zeus sent Dionysus to intoxicate him and persuade him to return. Drunk on wine, which he had never previously drank, Hephaestus then rode on a donkey, accompanied by Dionysus, back to Olympus. His mother reclaimed him and he became the Olympian god of fire, forges, volcanoes, metallurgy, stonemasonry, the art of sculpture, technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, and artisans. Hera presented him with a broken mountain nearby that contained a massive workshop with bellows, anvils, and forges so he could continue to create to the delight of the gods and goddesses. She gave him the Cyclopes to be his helpers. Hephaestus agreed and excused her cruelty to him.

Hephaestus continued to live underground, where he could work as an artisan undisturbed. He grew up to be a huge lump of a man with his shoulders at different heights, a huge, bulging, misshapen head, his leg in a steel brace, and with a wild black beard that sparks fire from time to time. He is the only Olympian to show such extreme physical injuries and the only god to have returned to Olympus after exile. When he is on Olympus, he is clean and elegant, whereas in the forges he wears a jumpsuit smeared with grime and oil. Hephaestus's symbols are the axe, smith's hammer, anvil, fire, and a pair of tongs.

He also built the twelve thrones of Olympus.

In Ancient Greece, Hephaestus was worshiped in the manufacturing and industrial centers, particularly in Athens.

Hephaestus was given Aphrodite's hand in marriage by Zeus in order to prevent conflict over her between the other gods.

* * *

Also by Zeus, Hera birthed:

Hebe (hee'bee), "youth", "prime of life", goddess of youth and the cupbearer of the gods and goddesses of Olympus, served their nectar and ambrosia, also drew baths for Ares and helped Hera enter her chariot, became an attendant of Aphrodite and the patron goddess of the young bride, her opposite was Geras

Ares (air'eez), "Leader of Righteous Men", god of war, righteous indignation, courage, battle lust, civil order, male passion, the weapons and preparations for war, the defense and protection of cities, rebellion, policing of banditry, masculinity, anger, fear, and integrity, sacred symbols were the spear, helmet, vulture, dog, eagle owl, and woodpecker

Ilithyia, "she who comes to aid" or "relieve", goddess of childbirth and labor pains

* * *

For whatever reason, Zeus disliked Ares the moment he was born and barely tolerated him from then on.

Aphrodite disliked the idea of being married to unsightly Hephaestus, and began an affair with Ares. Ares charged Alectryon, "rooster", a youth, to stand guard outside the door while the god indulged in illicit love with Aphrodite. Alectryon fell asleep, and Helios walked in on the couple and reported the incident to Aphrodite's husband. Hephaestus fashioned an unbreakable chain-link net so small as to be invisible and used this to ensnare the illicit lovers. To make fun of them more, he invited the Olympian gods and goddesses to view and laugh at the naked pair. Poseidon persuaded Hephaestus to free them in return for a guarantee that Ares would pay the adulterer's fine. Once the couple was freed, Ares turned Alectryon into a rooster, which never forgets to announce the arrival of the sun in the morning, and, embarrassed, sped away to his homeland, Thrace.


End file.
